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I wouldn't say it's lack of political will. It's more that we are so excessively bureaucratized and regulated that it just takes more political will to get the

I wouldn't say it's lack of political will. It's more that we are so excessively bureaucratized and regulated that it just takes more political will to get the same thing done because it will be stuck for years getting regulatory approval.

9question1 2y ago
Too much bureaucracy is often at fault, but seems very unlikely in this particular case. Are all the other countries mentioned in the article less bureaucratized or regulated? There seems to be a strong correlation between countries that have good public transit and invest heavily in public transit and countries that are perceived as having too much regulatory red tape (EU, East Asia). If that's the case, how could this possibly be the problem here?
- deleted 2y ago
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- fallingknife 2y ago
  According to the chart in the article the EU seems to be building at about the same pace as Russia, so I'm not sure it is a great example for the success of bureaucracy. And is East Asia particularly bureaucratic? The idea that I get is that building a train line over there isn't going to be held up for years in environmental review and lawsuits, but I could be wrong.
jltsiren 2y ago
Bureaucracy is universal. American issues arise from the idea that public transit is for the poor, and from the loss of expertise. If you want good transit, it must be for the people who vote. Otherwise they will vote to make it bad to save tax money. Branding public transit as the affordable option is a guaranteed recipe for failure. Transit projects must also be small enough that the entity responsible for them always has several projects running in parallel. Once you stop building, you will quickly lose expertise, and subsequent projects will be more difficult and more expensive.
- fallingknife 2y ago
  The presence of bureaucracy is universal, but the amount of it and how fast it moves varies massively.
freitzkriesler2 2y ago
That is the epitome of lack of will. After the last major earth quake on LA,major highways were destroyed into and around down town LA. Those were repaired in less than a month. When there's a will to get it done, it gets done. When her isn't, planning and permitting takes a butt load long time.

9question1 2y ago

Too much bureaucracy is often at fault, but seems very unlikely in this particular case. Are all the other countries mentioned in the article less bureaucratized or regulated? There seems to be a strong correlation between countries that have good public transit and invest heavily in public transit and countries that are perceived as having too much regulatory red tape (EU, East Asia). If that's the case, how could this possibly be the problem here?

deleted 2y ago
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fallingknife 2y ago
According to the chart in the article the EU seems to be building at about the same pace as Russia, so I'm not sure it is a great example for the success of bureaucracy. And is East Asia particularly bureaucratic? The idea that I get is that building a train line over there isn't going to be held up for years in environmental review and lawsuits, but I could be wrong.

jltsiren 2y ago

Bureaucracy is universal. American issues arise from the idea that public transit is for the poor, and from the loss of expertise. If you want good transit, it must be for the people who vote. Otherwise they will vote to make it bad to save tax money. Branding public transit as the affordable option is a guaranteed recipe for failure. Transit projects must also be small enough that the entity responsible for them always has several projects running in parallel. Once you stop building, you will quickly lose expertise, and subsequent projects will be more difficult and more expensive.

fallingknife 2y ago
The presence of bureaucracy is universal, but the amount of it and how fast it moves varies massively.

freitzkriesler2 2y ago

That is the epitome of lack of will. After the last major earth quake on LA,major highways were destroyed into and around down town LA. Those were repaired in less than a month. When there's a will to get it done, it gets done. When her isn't, planning and permitting takes a butt load long time.